Samuel

The heart of the matter

/ EllieJ

Who would you choose as your leader? On the playground as children, we’d pick the big, strong, athletic kids. As teens, perhaps the best-looking guy or girl. As adults, the one that looks like they have it all together.

Saul was that man. He was big and strong. He stood a head taller than everyone else. He was good-looking. He had it all together. He was God’s first choice. But he wasn’t God’s lasting choice.

Three times in 1 Samuel 15, Saul, while speaking to Samuel, refers to God as the Lord your God. Never once did he say, the Lord my God. Even though Saul had been chosen by God, anointed as king over Israel, and had the Spirit of the Lord upon him, Saul had not sought the Lord for himself.

But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance of his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV)

Because Saul refused to seek after Him, the Lord chose to remove His hand and His Spirit from him.

But now your kingdom will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.

1 Samuel 13:14 (NIV)

Israel asked for a king and God gave them what they wanted. But when the king God gave them led them away from Him, it was time to replace that king.

God is not at all concerned with what position we may or may not have. He gives position and He can take it away.

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

Romans 13:1 (NIV)

Power and position here on earth are of no consequence to God. Just because Saul had been made king didn’t mean that he would remain king. By not following God’s instructions and for not seeking the Lord for himself, Saul disqualified himself from ruling over Israel. Instead, God led Samuel to seek out the one man who would chase after Him no matter what.

When we choose to honour God not matter what, He will elevated us to a position of His choosing. We won’t all be kings or queens, nor will we necessarily take up positions of great power or authority. But for those who search for the heart of God, He will make a place.

Read: 1 Samuel 15-16, Luke 14:25-35

Teach. Pray.

/ EllieJ

It is our duty as believers to pray for one another and to pray for the Church. Prayer is good and it is right, but it cannot take the place of teaching.

Near the end of Samuel’s life, he has a heart-to-heart with Israel. He’s been their spiritual Father for many years. He’d made his fair share of mistakes. So had Israel. But at this point in time, Israel was on the road to repentance. What Samuel really wanted to do at times was walk away from them as a parent might wish to walk away from a belligerent child who just can’t seem to learn his lesson. But because the Lord was faithful to Israel, Samuel would be, too.

He encourages the people to set aside all idols and worship God alone. He tells—he teaches—Israel the right way in going about life as God’s chosen people. Prayer is all fine and good, but if someone is never taught the right way to do something, their chances of getting it right are slim. In addition to praying for them, Samuel chose to tell Israel what to do.

As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.

1 Samuel 12:23-24 (NIV)

And he prayed that God would help them to do what is right.

Train a child in the way he should go,
and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)

Obedience and faithfulness must first be taught. To neglect teaching it to remain ignorant and immature.

Then we must pray that those lessons we have learned take root and grow and become fruitful. Once we learn what God says and how He says it, our prayers allow us to hear His voice so that He can continue to train us in the way we should go.

Read: 1 Samuel 10-12, Luke 13:22-35

Is anybody listening?

/ EllieJ

Have you ever heard God’s voice? I mean really heard His voice, not just an inkling in your spirit? I always imagined God to sound like a big black man. Like James Earl Jones or Morgan Freeman. But I’ve never actually audibly hear God’s voice. Truth be told, most Christians haven’t. And almost as many would probably say that they’ve never really felt an unction in their spirit, either. Why is that? Does God not speak? Or are we not listening?

A long, long time ago in a land far, far away, there was a boy who heard a voice. It called his name in the night. The boy got up and ran to his mentor asking what was required of him. The old man told the boy to go back to sleep, no one had called him. Again, the voice called and the boy ran. The old man, once more sent him back to bed. Yet again the voice called the boy’s name and he got up. Finally, the old priest, Eli, realised what was happening. This time, he instructed the boy to respond a certain way when he heard the voice.

The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

1 Samuel 3:10 (NIV)

Many imagine the voice of the Lord to be a terrible thing, shaking the earth and splitting stones. But a sound like that would have terrified a child in the night. Instead, Samuel immediately ran to Eli. God’s voice sounded familiar to him.

In 1 Kings 19:11-12, the voice of God spoke to Elijah. After a powerful wind, an earthquake, and fire, he heard a gentle whisper.

In Isaiah 6, the sound of angels crying, “Holy, holy, holy.” shook the temple, and afterward, Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord calling to him.

In Acts 9, Saul was brought to a sudden stop with a blinding light. When the Lord called out to him, Saul knew immediately who spoke.

No two accounts of man hearing the voice of God are the same, but they all have a couple of things in common.

  1. They weren’t afraid. None of these people feared or cowered at God’s voice. His voice was familiar and, in most cases, gentle. Unlike the angels—who always had to tell people not to fear, God’s voice is nothing to cringe at.
  2. They were listening. In some cases, God had to get someone’s attention. In the case of Samuel, it was the fourth time that was a charm. In the case of Saul, He had to blind him to get him to listen. But they listened.

Close your eyes. Listen. How many sounds can you identify as you sit where you are? At the moment, I can hear the fan of a heater and my computer, I hear the fridge in the next room, there’s a car speeding up the hill near my house, and a clock is ticking on the wall above me. I hear the landlord’s footsteps on the hardwood floor overhead and the house creaking as it settles. Most of those sounds I can’t even turn off.

Our ears and our minds are constantly bombarded with noise and then we have the audacity to claim that God isn’t speaking or that, if He wanted to get our attention, He would. Only in very special cases, like Saul (who later became known as Paul), did God arrest someone to give them a certain message. We allow distractions to fill our heads to our own detriment. Most of us can’t stand the silence. Yet that’s where God’s voice usually is.

We need to make time to listen. We need to block out the noise to hear. I am confident in this: God wants to speak to you.

He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.

John 8:47 (NIV)

Those are Jesus’ words, not mine. If we really, truly belong to God, we’ll make time for Him. We will listen, not for the wind or the quaking, but the whisper.

Is anybody listening?

Read: 1 Samuel 1-3, Luke 12:1-34

No hesitation

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

David was just a kid when he took on Goliath. He was never supposed to be on the battlefield. He was only there because he was bringing supplies to his brothers and would be bringing a report back to his father. As the youngest of eight sons, David had no business being where he was at that time.

For forty days, Goliath stood before Israel’s army with an invitation to fight. For forty days, Israel’s army shuddered in fear at the thought of taking on the giant. In one instant, David heard the challenge and had heard more than enough. He was filled with righteous indignation when he heard the nerve that Goliath had to mock God’s people. This kid was the first person to man up.

As Goliath moved closer to attack, David quickly ran out to meet him.

1 Samuel 17:48 (NLT)

 

When the rest of the army hesitated, they made room for fear. Every minute they waited to slay the giant, was another minute fear was allowed to take root.

HES’ITATE, verb, to strop or pause respecting decision or action; to be doubtful as to fact, principle or determination; to be in suspense or uncertainty.

David didn’t hesitate. I believe that, the moment he heard the challenge, he accepted it—even before he said anything to anyone else.

How was David able to do what the rest of the army could not?

David shouted in reply, “You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord Almighty—the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. Today the Lord will conquer you…

1 Samuel 17:45-46b (NLT)

With the Spirit of the Lord mightily upon him (1 Samuel 16:13), David knew exactly who he was and who was fighting not only with him, but for him.

“And everyone will know that the Lord does not need weapons to rescue his people. It is his battle, not ours. the Lord will give you to us!”

1 Samuel 17:47 (NLT)

With God’s Spirit living in us and God fighting our battles for us, why do we, like the Israelite army hesitate? Why do we pause long enough to allow fear into our lives? We should all be like David, running out to meet our giants head on.

If God is for us, who can ever be against us?

Romans 8:31b (NLT)

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 17-18, Luke 15:1-10

The change

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

Years ago, Steven Curtis Chapman wrote and released a song called The Change. In it, he talks about all the things we do as Christians that would make us appear to be different—the bracelets and cross necklaces, the bumper stickers, fridge magnets, and key chains. But do those things really make us different? The chorus of the song goes on to say:

What about the change
What about the difference
What about the grace
What about forgiveness
What about a life that’s showing
I’m undergoing the change

We all undergo a change when we allow God to invade our heart and spirit. Saul underwent that change in 1 Samuel. But so many fail to understand that the initial change is only the beginning.

God’s Spirit was on Saul, but the king never really put himself aside to allow the Spirit to do what God needed him to do. Samuel addressed Saul and relayed a message from God. Destroy the Amalekites. Remove them from the face of the earth. So Saul went to war and defeated the Amalekites. What he failed to do was to utterly destroy them. Saul and his army demolished what was worthless and plundered all that had value. They planned on sacrificing all of the animals they had pilfered. In Saul’s mind, he had obeyed the word from the Lord.

But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams.

1 Samuel 15:22 (NLT)

Just because God’s Spirit is in us doesn’t mean the work is done. This is why we are to continue working out our salvation (Philippians 2:12). A life of salvation is not a one time event, but a life-long journey.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.

Romans 12:2 (NLT)

Don’t just go through the motions that make it look like you’ve changed. Listen to the voice of God. Obey Him. God isn’t interested in the things we do to appear different than the rest of the word as He is interested in whether or not we obey His voice. He doesn’t want the appearance of change. He wants the real change.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 15-16, Luke 14:25-35

The Lord’s Anointed

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.”

1 Samuel 24: 6 (ESV)

David has just been given the perfect opportunity to off Saul. Saul, the man who has been chasing after David for no reason. Saul, the man who threw a spear at David. Saul, the father of David’s wife. Saul, the father of the man David was in covenant with. Saul, the king of Israel.

Just because we have been given an opportunity for revenge, does not mean we should, or even have the right to, take it. While all of David’s men who were in hiding with him encouraged him to do away with Saul while he was most vulnerable, David took the high road. The road that says we owe honour and respect to those God places before us.

What would David get out of killing Saul in that moment? A brief high before Saul’s army came at him?

But what did David get because he chose to honour God’s anointed?

He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you with evil… So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day.”

1 Samuel 24:17, 19

Whether it seems right at the time or not, the reward will always be in honour and not revenge.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 22-24; Luke 16:1-18

Covenant

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

Have you ever made a promise? Wait. That’s a silly question. Of course you’ve made promises.

Have you kept all your promises?

How often do we make promises throughout our day without even thinking about it? It’s become a part of our every day language, yet we’ve lost the true meaning of the concept.

PROMISE: In a general sense, a declaration, written or verbal, made by one person to another, which binds the person who makes it, either in honour, conscience or law, to do or forbear a certain act specified; a declaration which gives to the person to whom it is made, a right to expect or to claim the performance or forbearance of the act.

I’ve had a lot of people promise me things and never come through. I’m not the kind of person who would go and claim the performance of forbearance of the act. Should I be?

In 1 Samuel 20 David and Jonathan make a promise to each other binding themselves to each other with God as witness. This promise forces Jonathan to act against his own father. Had he decided that his familial relationship was worth more than his word, David would have died at the hand of Saul. God’s anointed would have been slain and Jesus’ bloodline cut off.

Because one man decided it was his duty to keep his word, to keep his promise, we have a Saviour.

Now, maybe the promises you make every day won’t result in a messiah, but think about the consequence of your word both before you make it, and when you have to decide whether to keep it or not.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 19-21; Luke 15:11-32

Reject

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

How would you like to be one of God’s rejects? To be the one whom He had chosen and then turned His back on?

Even when we think we’re doing well, what is good in our own eyes may not be good in God’s eyes.

Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice.

1 Samuel 15:22b (ESV)

Saul had just come back from raiding the Amalekites. God’s instruction had been to destroy them utterly. Leave nothing. Leave no one.

Samuel had heard from God that Saul missed the mark.

Saul thought it would be a good idea to keep the king along with the very best of the flocks. The intent was to sacrifice the best of the spoils.

God was not impressed.

God’s mind was made up. Saul would no longer have His stamp of approval as king. In fact, He said to Samuel,

I have provided for myself a king among his (Jesse’s) sons.

1 Samuel 16:1b (ESV)

Was Saul’s intent to sacrifice the best of the spoils a bad idea? He did what he thought was a good thing. But that good thing wasn’t the thing God had told him to do.

For the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

1 Samuel 16:7b (ESV)

Saul’s heart was no longer one that longed to obey God. He had lifted himself up. Admittedly, it would be difficult not to get big-headed being Israel’s very first appointed and anointed king, but he lost his way and, as a result, lost his throne and he lost the very thing that mattered the most – God’s approval.

Obeying God’s word is far better than making the sacrifice He never asked for.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 15-16; Luke 14:25-35

Only Fear

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

Are you afraid of God or do you fear God? Is there a difference?

As kids, many of us were afraid of the dark. Afraid of the monsters under the bed. Afraid of spiders (and maybe still are).

As kids, many of us feared our parents. Feared our teachers.

How do we differentiate the two? And how do we teach fear with out teaching fear?

I often go back to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary for reference. He was a man of God and, as often as possible, used scripture to back up his definitions.

FEAR: A painful emotion or passion excited by an expectation of evil, or the apprehension of impending danger.

This is what it means when the lights go out, when the bed squeaks, when you walk through the unseen web.

FEAR is the passion of our nature which excites us to provide for our security, on the approach of evil.

In scripture, fear is used to express a filial or a slavish passion. In good men, the fear of God is a holy awe or reverence of God and his laws, which springs from a just view and real love of the divine character, leading the subjects of it to hate and shun every thing that can offend such a holy being, and inclining them to aim at perfect obedience. This is filial fear.

This is what it means to have a healthy respect of and reverence for those in authority over us.

Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.

1 Samuel 12:24 (ESV)

Samuel, after anointing Saul as king over Israel, admonishes the people to cease from turning against God. He’s not telling them to be afraid, to run away cowering from the Lord. God chose them, after all, and led them out of slavery into a good and fruitful land. Why should they be afraid of a God who has only shown them grace and mercy?

Samuel encourages Israel to fear the Lord as a matter of honour and respect.

If you will fear the Lord and serve him and obey his voice and not revel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and the king who reigns over you will follow the Lord your God, it will be well.

1 Samuel 12:14 (ESV)

A promise follows the command to fear the Lord. Honour God. Respect him. Be faithful in service to him, and it will be well.

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 10-12; Luke 13:22-35

Familiar

/ EllieJ / Leave a comment

I’ve always said that, if I were ever to hear the voice of God audibly, He’d sound like James Earl Jones – more Mufasa than Darth Vadar. I don’t know why, but in my mind, God is an old black man. I have no scripture to back this up.

If I really were to hear the voice of God, I wonder what He’d sound like. Would He be the rumbling, echoing voice in the clouds or would He be the softly carried whisper in the wind that causes fields of grain to ripple in ripe, golden waves?

In 1 Samuel 3, the boy Samuel hears a voice in the night. Is it a deep, raspy voice or a light, airy sound? Whatever the timbre, it wasn’t a stranger’s voice he heard.

How often do you see Christians heeding the voice of a stranger? A voice on the radio? A passer-by? A travelling preacher?

And how often do those very same people ignore the voice of the trusted and familiar? Close friends. Family. Pastor.

Then the Lord called Samuel, and Samuel answered, “I am here!” He ran to Eli and said, “I am here. You called me.”

1 Samuel 3:4-5 (NCV)

Thrice over, young Samuel heard a voice and ran immediately to Eli. Why? The voice he heard wasn’t strange, but familiar. God called to him in a voice that wouldn’t frighten him, but rather give comfort and trust.

God will often use the voices of those closest to us to convey His words.

Whose voice are you listening to?

Daily Bible reading: 1 Samuel 1-3; Luke 12:1-34